The Ten Kingdoms
by Jewel Insert Witty Name Here
Summary: Queen Serenity is the ruler of the First Kingdom. She dispises Endymion, the future king of the Second Kingdom. The 10 Kingdoms are split between loyalty to the two, and one day he's captured in battle and at her mercy...~*~Part 4 Up~*~
1. And It Begins...

The Ten Kingdoms  
  
~*~Jewel~*~  
  
knowsall5@hotmail.com  
  
General Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi and others. The Characters are used without permission for the purpose of this fanfic. No profit has been or will be made from this,  
  
Author's Notes: see bottom  
  
Part One (1): And It Begins...  
  
Queen Serenity sat on her throne. It was huge and carved of marble right out of the western wall. It rose on a dais to over look a dimly lit cavernous room. The ceiling wad twenty-five feet off the ground and the center rose into a glass dome. Doors that stretched nearly to the roof were in the eastern wall, leading out of the Throne Room. Against her black marble Throne adorned in the colorful emblems of the Ten Kingdoms of fairie, the Queen wore a marvelous white gown. It was strapless and sleeveless. Her arms and shoulders were covered by her mass of silver hair that was confined only by a thin silver circlet. The gown combined with her hair and alabaster skin gave her a mythical look. The gown was made of silk and flowed down to cover her feet. The bodice was tight and fitted, pushing her breasts upward that they looked as though they might fall out if she wasn't careful. At her hips the gown flared out, falling around her feet, sweeping the ground if she walked. Her feet were clad in silver colored shoes with high, thin heels.  
  
She crossed her legs, making the silk hiss along the marble. Her left hand tapped absently against the arm of her Throne. The absolute silence of the room before broken by the clicking of her nails against the marble. Her cerulean eyes were hooded by her long lashes and semi-lowered eyelids as she surveyed the people kneeling before her.  
  
The Captain of her Guard rose from the ground. Kunzite kept his head bowed though. Queen Serenity ceased her tapping. The sudden click of her tongue caused the page across the room to start. Serenity's eyes remained on the prisoners prostrated at the foot of her Throne's dais.  
  
"Speak." The simple command fell from her lips as a gentle ringing of a bell. Kunzite raised his head, careful to avoid the Queen's eyes.  
  
"Beryl's forces are trying to push our southern borders. However," he continued, expecting the Queen's next question. "The Queen of Death was anxious to show her new support of you. Her troops aided ours."  
  
A small smile played on her pale lips. "The Queen of Death fears my growing power. Five of the Kingdoms are my allies. The Magickal Kingdom cannot win us against the odds. Beryl the Bitch cannot even keep her own allies. Minavera is wavering." The Queen paused and blinked, not realizing she'd started a tangent. "Beryl as it is only has three of the Kingdoms under her control. Our neighbors have made peace with us again. Beryl lies at our southern border, but she too is surrounded by my allies. The Sea and Love are her neighbors but they do not lie at any of my borders." The smile faded from her face like someone throwing a switch. Her gaze lowered to the men on the floor."Prisioners?"  
  
The Queen made her statement in the form of a question. Kunzite licked his lips nervously. He couldn't see her eyes and couldn't meet them, but he sensed her growing anger. She was impatient. "Yes."  
  
"I ordered no prisoners to be taken. Ever." her voice had dropped to an icy hiss.  
  
Kunzite lowered his head again. An angry Queen, an angry Serenity, was something to be reckoned with. "Two of the four are guilty of treason. They aided Beryl's troops. They are not of the battle, they could not be killed."  
  
Serenity suppressed a frown. "If there were two near my borders willing to commit an act of treason, there must be more."  
  
Kunzite had won back her approval. He knew what he had to do with the two men. But his report was not yet complete. And he'd be in her high favor by the time it was over. "On of the unconscious ones is a thief who will be trialed." he hurried to continue before the Queen could remark. Kunzite could not keep the smile that grew on his face off. "The last is Crown Prince Endymion."  
  
Serenity had relaxed against her Throne and her gaze had wondered to the dome. The skies were a beautiful blue that her eyes reflected. The midday sun was shining into the dome, filled a small spot before her Throne in golden light. At the announcement of the last man her head whipped down to stare at Kunzite. The sky above cracked and clouds gathered, swallowing the sun. Darkness loomed over the room. Along the walls of the room were a few torches. But Kunzite and the prisoners were in near darkness with no sunlight in the room. The torches were too distant to shower them in enough light. Serenity's eyes became a darker shade of blue. Her skin began to shimmer silver. Kunzite resisted flinching at the changes that had appeared in a matter of moments. Serenity's palace was built above the most powerful Fairie mound. She was the Queen of Light and Illusion. She lived and breathed magick. She was part of her Kingdom. The weather changed with her mood. And right now her skin glowed in barely contained fury.  
  
Her hands turned white, gripping the rounded edges of the arms of her Throne. She struggled to keep her voice calm and neutral. "Remove the three from my presence. Put them in dungeons. Then everyone but my Captain and his prisoner leave."  
  
Kunzite turned and signaled to someone behind him in the shadows. Three men covered in black leather came forward. They were dressed in all black except for Serenity's emblem, a silver crescent moon pierced by a red rose. It had been created in a time when the Kingdoms of Light, Illusion and Magick were one. Serenity's mother hadn't changed it, so Serenity wouldn't.  
  
The guards stepped and bowed. Three picked up a prisoner each and the rest left. The page left as well. The grand doors creaked shut as everyone exited. Kunzite had his head bowed again to hide his smile. Crown Prince Endymion was in a heap on the floor. His black cape blended in well with the black marble floor. His head was on the ground and Serenity could not see it. She rose and walked slowing down her dais. Her white silk train followed her, whispering against the marble. Her hair hung down to her ankles, falling over her shoulders and hiding her arms. The long dress hid her feet and the effect was a goddess floating in a sea of darkness.  
  
Serenity's eyes were nearly midnight blue. The light that had been glowing beneath her skin rose to the top, making it nearly impossible to look directly at her. Above them the sky broke and rain poured down. She stopped on the last step of her dais. Her eyes were fixed on Enydmion, but she directed her question to Kunzite. "Beryl sent her only son to fight a battle at my borders that she could not possibly win?"  
  
There was real puzzlement in the Queens voice. Kunzite shrugged and Serenity saw the movement out of the corner of her eye. "Rumor has it that the Prince has fallen from his mother's grace. In the last war he refused to slaughter a village on the border of the Kingdom of Time."  
  
Serenity's anger was on a thin leash. She turned her head to Kunzite in a sudden movement making her hair fan out before settling back around her. "I don't care for rumors Kunzite. I want to know why he was there." Her gaze wondered back to Endymion. "The bastard...turn him over so I can see his face."  
  
Kunzite bent quickly and turned him over. He was still as handsome as she remembered him...and she still wanted to rip out his heart as much as she had then. She fell to the ground in a graceful movement. An arm ventured out of her cascade of hair. Her hand moved to his forehead. She brushed his hair away from his eyes. As all those from the Kingdom of Magick his hair was short, but it still fell into his eyes. They were closed now but she knew what she would see if they were open. A beautiful sapphire blue. Serenity traced a fingertip across his jaw. She looked up at Kunzite. "Have him bathed and chained to my bed."  
  
Serenity stood and turned her back to him. She ascended her Throne slowly. She reached it and stood still. She kept her back to the room until she heard the doors open and close, only then did she sit in her throne. Her skin was still glowing, fired by the desire to kill the prince. She propped her elbows on the arms of her Throne, lacing her fingers together. The bastard was in her Kingdom, in her Palace and at her utter mercy...  
  
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End of Part 1.  
  
Please Review!!!! I want a certain number of them before I post again.  
  
Author's Notes will appear after the second part. Please read them, they are important to understand this fanfic. 


	2. Bitter Memories of the Past

The Ten Kingdoms  
  
~*~Jewel~*~  
  
knowsall5@hotmail.com  
  
General Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi and others. The Characters are used without permission for the purpose of this fanfic. No profit has been or will be made from this,  
  
Author's Notes: see bottom  
  
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Part Two (2): Bitter Memories of the Past...  
  
Serenity closed her eyes, trying to regain her calm demeanor. She wasn't a cruel Queen. Her people loved her and her enemies feared her. She was the Queen of the Kingdom of Light and Illusion...the most powerful queen. Millennia ago the faire had lived in mounds in the deserts of Africa. Then the Change had come and they had no longer been welcomed there. Her many times great grandmother had accepted the eight Kingdoms that had seeked refuge with her. She ruled a large Kingdom in the Southern Pacific Ocean. In time the other Queens and their people had added land to the Kingdom hidden by magick to outsiders.  
  
Then a few centuries ago the vast land had been divided. And the Kingdom of Light Illusion and Magick had been split. Ten Kingdoms then existed...the Kingdoms of Light & Illusion, Magick, Knowledge, War, Protection & Vengeance, Love, Death, the Seas, the Skies and Time itself. The Kingdoms had gotten along in peace despite the separations of power. Then the internal fighting started...The Queen of Magick, Beryl's mother had assassinated the other nine Queens, forcing the young Princesses to take the Thrones of Power. Young, confused, grief stricken and weak, four of the new Queens fell under Metalia's control. Serenity's mother and four other Princesses united against Metalia's forces. The war raged for years until it looked like a peace treaty might be on the horizon.  
  
By then Serenity had been sixteen years old. The Queens of Magick, War, Protection & Vengeance, Death and Time had died. Serenity's mother had been next. Today the other four Queens lived. But then, six new, even younger Queens were made. Serenity's mother had called Beryl to their Kingdom to seek peace. Beryl had brought her son along...eighteen year old Endymion. Already a Prince who easily surrendered to the lures of sex and the blood lust. Serenity had been only sixteen. The Prince had been charming and handsome. Serenity had almost been in love...almost.  
  
One night, a week before her mother's assassination he's been in a drunken stupor. In a dark hallway of this very Palace he had pushed her against wall and almost raped her. At the age of sixteen she'd been as beautiful as she was now. She was the perfect Princess...sweet tempered, nicely mannered, accomplished in school, dance, combat, horse riding and everything else a lady had to know. Happy about her new mature body she'd worn dresses that displayed her lovely self...her high breast, tiny waist, curved hips, long shapely legs. What a terrible mistake that had been. Endymion must have been drunk she'd reasoned afterward until she knew the truth.  
  
She'd been walking along a darkly lit hall. She had been dressed for the ball that night in a pink gown. It had thin straps and hugged her upper body. A low cut neckline plunged to show her pale white breast. A high slit at the left displayed and framed a long, well shaped leg. She hummed to herself as she floated to the ballroom. A door banged open next to her, and startled her. She jumped back as Endymion stormed into the corridor. He turned his gaze to her, and they looked black. Quickly he moved to her and used his body to trap her against the wall. Serenity had given a small cry of surprise. He only used the chance to cover her lips in a forced kiss and to slide his skilled tongue into her mouth. Serenity struggled against him but to no avail. His body was pressed into hers, something then foreign to her, pushed against her stomach and disturbed her. One of his arms was braced against the wall. The other hand trailed up her left leg, up the slit. His hand touched her thigh in a light caress. His mouth moved from hers to trail down her long, white throat. He began to suck lightly on the skin there. It would've been pleasurable if it wasn't so foreign to her. As much as she still loved her mother, her mother had sheltered her too much. She was sixteen and then knew nothing about sex. Panicked her powers had come to the surface. Her skin glowed and burned Endymion. Shocked he'd pulled away from her. He stared at her; his gaze was still near black in the brilliant light of her power. He snarled before turning and running out of the hallway.  
  
Serenity had collapsed against the wall and cried. After a while she'd returned to her room. Her friend Renata, already Queen of the War, had found her. It had been Rei who explained all to her. For the rest of the time Serenity avoided him...until five days after the incident. Her mother had been found in her bed, a knife protruding from her chest. Serenity had broken down, a helpless shell of herself. As she remembered all of this she laughed, and it echoed through the empty room. Beryl must have laughed, she thought, goddess she must have thought she had another Queen to control. Again it had been Rei to comfort her. And her other bestfriend, Lilth, Queen of Protection and Vengeance had kept the state affairs away from Beryl.  
  
How furious Beryl must have been! And two weeks after her mother had been dead Serenity had been stable enough to ascend the Throne. Her first order as Queen was to have Beryl and her son killed. Her state advisors had protested. If then she had known they were in league with Beryl she would have unleashed her full power to eat their souls. Later Lita had declared Vengeance on them as an ally of Serenity. Lita had been cruel to them. Her best guards had gathered Serenity's Council, all 24 of them and put them in a large field in her Kingdom. There she had unleashed a Thunder Dragon.  
  
Serenity laughed again at the memory. But before their execution, Beryl's spies had stopped her from killing her and her son. Beryl was banished from the Kingdom and with her all thoughts of peace. Serenity had stood stiffly with Rei, Lita and her guards at her back. As he walked out of Palace Endymion had paused and leaned into to Serenity. He's lowered his head and touched his lips to her ears. Serenity now knew that rumors of the molestation had floated around the palace and had reached him. He'd whispered to her: "I was not drunk...and when you next see me, you will be tied to my bed."  
  
Then he'd walked out of the palace with his mother. Lita had had to restrain Rei from killing him. Serenity stood from her Throne. She walked down its steps and to the doors. She pulled a rope near it and two Guards outside pulled them open. With a nod of her head Serenity turned and walked to the North Wing, to her bedroom.  
  
Her laughter floated though the empty halls as she neared her room. Serenity paused at her door. There were two guards outside it. She cleared her face of any expression, but couldn't help a small smirk. Well their second meeting had met one of them in chains. The guards opened her door. The shoe is on the other foot Endymion, she thought merrily, and goddess was it going to squeeze!  
  
With the merry thought Queen Serenity breezed into her room, her laughter light like crystal bells.  
  
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end of part 2  
  
Review!!!!! I'm serious, someone review or i won't post. *pouts*  
  
Author's Notes: important that you read the notes that you'll find where part three should be. You must read the notes!!! 


	3. IMPORTANT Author's Notes!!! read!!!

Author's Notes:  
  
This is an Alternate Unverise story. Basically what it is a story I've wanted to read for a long time. But no one was writing it, so I took matters into my own hands.  
  
I get tired of seeing the typical Silver Millenium thing. Don't get my wrong, there are some good ones. However there are several people tend to overdo:  
  
1) Serenity is nice, Enydmion is nice. Their countries/planets are at war. They unite them with their love.  
  
2) Enydmion is a big baddie. He's attacking Serenity's planet. She stops him with their love.  
  
3) Endymion is a baddie, Serenity hate him. He lusts after her, she returns it. They screw and then their countries/planets are at peace.  
  
4) Once in a while you see Serenity is a bad guy, but Endymion is a good one?  
  
5) And then there's the entire "slave" bit.  
  
Well this was my idea: Serenity is a Queen who hates Endymion. He's ruler of a Kingdom at war with hers. No hate, no overwhelming lust. Just acts of cruelty and some sex. Neither fall in love with the other and can't wait for the other to realize they are in love too.  
  
Now, don't get me wrong, I adore Serenity and Endymion together, no matter in what form. But I get bored easily. There will be, God(s) willing, be a happily ever after.  
  
Have fun! Below is some character info.  
  
Character/Story info:  
  
*Serenity (Serena)- Queen of the Kingdom of Light and Illusion. {Ruler of the First Kingdom}  
  
*Renata (Rei)- Queen of the Kingdom of War. Ally of Serenity. {Ruler of the Fourth Kingdom}  
  
*Lilth (Lita)- Queen of the Kingdom of Protection and Vengeancge. Ally of Serenity. {Ruler of the Fifth Kingdom}  
  
*Setsuna- Queen of the Kingdom of Time. Ally of Serenity. {Ruler of the Tenth Kingdom}  
  
*Hotaru- Queen of the Kingdom of Death. Former Enemy turned Ally to Serenity. {Ruler of the Seventh Kingdom}  
  
*Haruka- Princess of the Kingdom of the Skies. Mother is an Ally of Serenity. {Heir of the Ninth Kingdom}  
  
*Amelia (Ami)- Princess of the Kingdom of Knowledge. Mother is a former enemy turned All to Serenity. {Heir of the Third Kingdom}  
  
*Beryl (the Bitch)- Queen of the Kingdom of Magick. Enemy of Serenity. {Ruler of the Second Kingdom}  
  
*Endymion- Prince (soon King) of the Kingdom of Magick. Personal enemy of Serenity. {Heir to the Second Kingdom}  
  
*Minevera (Mina)- Princess of the Kingdom of Love. Mother is an ally of Beryl. {Heir to the Sixth Kingdom}  
  
*Michiru- Princess of the Kingdom of the Seas. Mother is an ally of Berly. {Heir to the Eight Kingdom} 


	4. Queen of Illusion

The Ten Kingdoms  
  
~*~Jewel~*~  
  
Knowsall5@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and its characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and others.  
  
Author's Notes: see bottom. {plz read}  
  
Thanks: see bottom  
  
Part Three (3): Queen of Light and Illusion  
  
Serenity ordered her personal servant to her room. The girl met her there, and was silently waiting outside her chambers. Serenity walked into her chambers and closed the doors. Her chambers held three and a half rooms. The first was her sitting room. It was decorated in white and blue. The plush carpeting was white and gleamed silver under the light of the chandelier. The walls were painted white with intricate silver flower designs running along them. A white marble fireplace came out of the left wall; above it hung the crest of the First Kingdom. The wooden paneling was midnight blue and stood out in the frosty room. Several blue overstuffed armchairs littered the right wall. Each chair held two white cushions. A small ebony table sat in the center of the chairs, bare of anything. The wall opposite the one Serenity had entered from held a second door leading off to the second and third rooms. Serenity walked to the door, her servant trailing behind her. The doors were made of heavy oak and polished dark. The ceiling was fifteen feet high, and the doors touched it.  
  
The second pair of doors led to the bedroom. Serenity did not glance at it as she turned left and walked through a third doorway. This led to the bathing room. Its walls were wooden. A mirror covered one wall. Serenity paused in front of it and signaled her servant to step forward. "Dress me in my blue and red robes."  
  
The servant girl opened another set of doors and disappeared into its room. It was Serenity's wardrobe; large enough that it was almost a fourth room. The servant quickly returned, holding bloodred and night blue robes. Serenity carefully removed her crown and laid it on a small table. She stood impassively as the servant undressed her and then placed the robes on her. The robes were made of wool and large. They enveloped her body and hid her hair. The sleeves were wide and longer than her arms to slide over her fingertips to hide them. It was mainly red with panels of blue. It was something Beryl the Bitch would wear.  
  
The servant stood back and Serenity turned to her reflection. She removed the hood of the robes to reveal her face. Against her lovely white skin the red stood out. Her eyes had regained their normal color and matched the blue. If not for my hair I could pass myself off as the Death Queen, she mused silently. She spoke to the servant, not looking at her. "Leave. Close all my doors and tell my guards I am not to be bothered."  
  
The servant bowed and exited. Serenity heard the doors close as the servant left each room. Finally she turned and entered the bedroom. The room was bare except for a bed. The bed was large and could easily hold seven people. It was in the center of the room with five steps leading up to it. The walls were white stone with the same silver designs of the sitting room. The carpet was a dark blue, nearly black. The bed was canopied with sheer, light blue hanging hiding the contents of the bed. Serenity knew the bed had white silk sheet with matching pillows. There were no windows in the room.  
  
She walked to doors that exited the bedroom and enforced its ward. She placed her palm on the lock and whispered a single word in the ancient tongue. Warmness greeted her hand, like a caress of fire. Serenity opened her eyes and saw golden light dance along the silver vines before fading. The wards were meant to keep the inhabitants of the room in and others out. She walked to the mirrored wall of her bathing room.  
  
Serenity stared at her reflection for a moment. She moved the robe's hood so all her hair split out. She ran her fingertips along the surface of the mirror. It rippled as magick flowed from her fingertips into it. With a nudge of her mind Serenity changed. When the mirror stopped rippling Serenity stared at her new reflection. In place of her long silver hair was waist length red hair of a darker shade than most redheads. Her facial features were changed, her eyes were a dark brown and her nose was longer. Her face itself held no wrinkles, but looked aged. Her once perfect lips were now thin and red. I look like her, she thought to herself, wrinkling her nose. At least the spell worked though. It couldn't fail; another part of her mind threw at her. Serenity smiled and entered her bedroom.  
  
Prince Endymion blinked several times after he regained consciousness. He was on a bed. Or rather chained to a white silk bed. His head felt like a horse had stomped on it. He felt magick being used twice, but was too weak to find where it had come from. Next time I meet mother I will put a dagger between her eyes, he swore. How dare that damned bitch send him to do some simple, useless, border attack?! Endymion tried to move his head to better view his surroundings. Right now all he knew was he was chained half-naked to some bed hidden by flimsy cloth. His arms were stretched above his head and fastened to the bed's headboard. Likewise his feet were chained to the footboard. Far from comfortable. Normally the idea of being chained to a bed would have been his idea, but this was not. Again he tried pulling at the handcuffs that held his wrists to no avail.  
  
He muttered colorful curses beneath his breath for several minutes. His curses were interrupted by the parting of the canopies at the foot of the large bed. He had to blink again. Beryl stood at there, smiling cruelly. She crawled onto the bed moving along side his left. When she reached his chest level she kneeled on the bed, facing the headboard where he still tried to free his hands. She tsked him. "You will not free your hands. Your struggles will only bloody your wrists."  
  
"What do you want bitch?" He asked with an annoyed look.  
  
"You will not speak to me like I was your whore! I am Queen and your mother." She snapped. She paused for a moment before smiling sweetly. "Don't you like your position? One would have thought you'd love it."  
  
Endymion was not amused. "What games do you play Beryl?"  
  
She tilted her head to a side. "I play no games. Tell me son, how did you fare at the Serenity's border?"  
  
The bitch was at her tricks and Endymion was not in the mood to play. "You know how it fared. You knew you could get pass the border. I don't know what stupid games you are up to now, but sending me off to some nonsense like that DOES NOT FUCKING AMUSE ME!"  
  
"Temper temp Endymion. Why do you think I sent you to force the border? Why would I waste you there when you would be more useful elsewhere and out of the way?"  
  
"You mind is a twisted thing mother. No one wants to know how you use it." He hissed. "Now let me off of this bed. I have better things to do."  
  
Suddenly there was a dagger pointed at the hollow of his throat. She moved to straddle his waist. Endymion stared at her in disbelief. The dagger pricked his skin and a drop of blood trickled down. "What in the fuck are you doing bitch?"  
  
"I would mind the filthy language if I were you." The voice was no longer Beryl's. The eyes he knew as his mother's flickered blue.  
  
"What games are these?"  
  
"The kind that amuse me." Serenity dropped the glamour. Using her free hand she pushed back the hood. Her crown marked with the crescent of her Kingdom sat on top of her silver hair, no longer red. Her features melded back into her own. Brown eyes became their usual blue, but this time a dark stormy blue. "How have you been Endymion?"  
  
"Serenity?" Endymion frowned.  
  
Serenity briefly dipped her head. "Queen Serenity of the First Kingdom."  
  
"Queen of Illusion." He hissed.  
  
"So you are not as dumb as you would appear." Serenity sneered. Her dagger disappeared back into the robes. "You have tried to invade my borders and trespassed on my land after I expressly banished you on a death sentence were you or your mother to ever enter my Kingdom again. Did you think you would be handed back to the Second Kingdom?"  
  
"Then what are you going to do?" A light entered his eyes. "Or are you finally taking me up on my offer."  
  
Serenity laughed. "No Endymion. But it amuses me that you actually think I would take you." She leaned in to him, pressing her body into his as she lowered her lips to his ear. "I have you chained to my bed, but I will pain your body before I pleasure it."  
  
She laughed again and rolled off of him. She parted the drapes next to her and left the bed. Endymion stared in disbelief at her back as she bounced off the bed trying to make sense of the situation.  
  
Serenity merrily walked back into her bathing room. She took off her robes and dressed her self. She once again donned her white gown. How she would have loved to sink the dagger into his throat! But it would be too quick a death for the bastard. When she was dressed she exited her Chambers, never even glancing at her bed.  
  
It was nearly mid-afternoon and she still have to hold attend court. Not that she minded judging local squabbles, some days she even enjoyed it. It was the political squabbles that annoyed her. At least I will have this morning's happy thought to help me through, she thought as she walked back to her Throne room.  
  
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Please review! I'd love to hear what you thought!  
  
AN&thanks:  
  
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it meant a lot to me. I'm very happy people like this. I got some very nice reviews (hell, they were all great) thanks to those who took the time to do so. If you haven't, do so after you read the rest of the Author's Notes!  
  
I began to write this part last night, and thanks to those wonderful reviews I was motivated to finish it! Someone mentioned, I believe it was Miko633, mentioned something about "the 10th Kingdom". The title sounds familiar. * shrug * I named the fanfic that because I couldn't think of another title. And there are 10 kingdoms, would have been nine, but I had to give Serenity her own. It just occurred to me that: Serenity and Beryl's Kingdoms were once one, and as it should be, one ruling the Earth and the other the Moon and really the Moon belongs to the earth so it should be one. ^_^;;; Did I confuse you?  
  
Anyway, if anyone could think of a title I could use, I'd really appreciate it. 


	5. Beneath the Surface

The Ten Kingdoms  
  
~*~Jewel~*~  
  
Knowsall5@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and its characters are property of Naoko Takeuchi and others. They were used for the purpose of this fanfic. No profit has been or will be made.  
  
***Author's Notes*** at bottom, plz read!!!  
  
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Part Four: Beneath the surface  
  
The Second Kingdom was that of Magick. While all ten kingdoms could do magick, it was the Second Kingdom's specialty. No one was greater a mage than its ruler. A long time ago, so long ago that it was only now legend, it was said to be Nine Kingdoms; and millennia before that one…  
  
The people of Light and Illusion, the people of good and deceit, ruled the land now containing the Ten Kingdoms. In the deserts of Africa the other Kingdoms laid at peace until they were disturbed. Then all fled to the people of Light and Illusion. The ten people lived in peace for some centuries until internal wars began. The Kingdom of Death was the first to be reborn and then the rulers of War set up a different Kingdom. Soon there were Nine Kingdoms. And for reasons now forgotten a tenth Kingdom was rebuilt, one of Magick. Then centuries of peace washed over the Kingdoms. They were all prosperous and happy. Then nearly a century ago war began again. The Kingdoms became divided. Five sought to capture new land and Five fought to protect outsiders.  
  
Once the Second Kingdom was wealthy and its inhabitants happy, its land prosperous. Now its people were poor and its land wasted. The only people to possess wealth were the nobles. And if you weren't a noble, you were poor. Those who were neither noble nor poor were slaves. Slave keeping was only one of the reasons the Kingdom of Magick was looked upon in disdain. Renewing war was another. And the third sat upon a Throne in the Palace.  
  
The streets were broken and filled with the poor. Rats ran freely through alleys. Neglected dogs barked as passing carriages holding nobles, who turned their eyes and ears from the misery of their Kingdom. Its Palace sat in the heart of the Kingdom, upon a node of magick. Inside the Palace music played. Servants and slaves scurried through corridors. The Throne room was cast in red light provided by magickal balls of energy. It was not as large as Serenity's but did not need to be. The Throne itself was black marble, but its occupant, unlike Serenity, was dressed in red.  
  
Queen Beryl's dress was blood red and hugged her body. The dress began just above her nipples and fell to the ground, still molded to her body. Beryl's crown sat on a head of copper waves that fell to her waist. The crown was a thin circlet of gold with a ruby above her third eye. Beryl's hand as wrapped around a staff at the side of her Throne. The staff's diameter was three inches and its body made of snakewood. A large ruby topped it. The ruby was the largest in existence and cut into the shape of a sphere. It was held to the staff by thin trendils of wood. The staff alone was five feet tall and the ruby added another seven inches of height.  
  
Before Beryl kneeled a man with short blonde hair. "Raise Jadeite. Speak."  
  
Jadeite rose but fixed his eyes on the ruby of the staff. "The border attack failed. The Prince was captured."  
  
Beryl's hand flexed around the staff. "By Death or Illusion?"  
  
"The First Kingdom. He was taken to their Queen."  
  
Beryl hissed in a breath. "She will kill him. "Beryl's mind worked fast. The border attack was suppose to just get Endymion away. He acted as though he was already King. The border attack had been a ploy to get him away from the Palace. Endymion knew how to rule and Beryl felt threatened. She did not want an assassination attempt on her, muchless her own son killing her. But she needed an heir. She also needed Hotaru back. Hotaru was a bit young, but not so Endymion would not have an interest in her. Beryl planned on wedding the two. A marriage of alliance would bring the Death Queen under her control, as she had hoped to do with Serenity.  
  
Ah Serenity, Beryl thought, I'd had great plans for you. She had planned on Endymion seducing the young Princess. All along her mother would be killed, and when the grief struck the new Queen Serenity, Endymion would be there to comfort her. He would have her declare him consort and King of the First Kingdom. But the idiot had gone and scared the bitch and had her despise him! Aware of Jadeite awaiting instructions she looked at him, her eyes guarded. "The Princess of the Seas is in my Palace, no? Have her brought to me."  
  
Once again Serenity sat on her Throne. This time the room was brightly lit. All the previously dark corners were cast in the golden light torches. Serenity sat primly with a neutral expression on her face as two nobles practically called each other names.  
  
Serenity was about to make a judgement on their dispute when a herald's trumpet interrupted her. The nobles stopped their bickering as the herald's voice rang through the room. "Announcing the arrival of Queen Renata of the Fourth Kingdom. Queen of War."  
  
The grand doors opened and Renata breezed in, flanked by two guards dressed in her red livery. Renata was tall and beautiful, just one year older than Serenity at 23, Renata had been ruling for eight years. Her long black hair gleamed under the bright light. Her crown was golden and adorned with tiny rubies. Her curvaceous body was encased in a red silk gown in a similar fashion to Serenity's. Small sleeves that fell slightly off of her shoulders held up only Renata's gown. Renata stopped a few feet from the Throne.  
  
At her arrival the people of the room had all dropped to their knees or bowed. Only Renata and her guards stood straight. A crowing sound came from the hallway outside and two crows flew into the room. Renata's purple eyes twinkled as several nobles flinched. Her crows flew to the top of the dome and then dived. Serernity shook her head at her friend's entrance. One of the crows swooped towards Serenity as the other gracefully landed on Renata's shoulders. Several people gasped as the crow, Phobos Serenity believed, dived at her. One guard even drew a dagger, but Serenity was calm. She held out her arm at the last moment and stood. The large bird squawked and landed on her extended forarm, careful not to pierce her skin.  
  
Gently Serenity moved her arm to her chest and petted the bird's head. She walked down the dais to meet Renata. At the bottom of the dais Serenity threw her arm up, launching Phobos into the air. He crowed and circled the air, Deimos flew away from Renata and joined him. Both Queens laughed as the birds startled more nobles.  
  
Serenity completed the walk to the other Queen and pulled Renata into an embrace. It wasn't how two Queens and rulers of powerful Kingdoms would greet each other, but Serenity and Renata had been friends before they could speak. But when Renata's mother had been killed she'd had to assume the Throne of War and the two had grown apart. Then six years ago, at the death of Serenity's mother, the two had rekindled their friendship. Serenity turned her face towards the side of Renata's neck and whispered, knowing no one else could hear her. "We have much to speak about. Endymion is in my Palace."  
  
The Queens pulled apart and swept out of the Chambers, the crows flying behind and the guards tagging along. They walked out to the gardens in silence. They wandered into the heart of the gardens where a fountain layed. It's large marble centerpiece was the picture of Serenity. They sat gracefully on a white stone bench near the fountain. A few guards stood a few feet away, so they spoke in low tones. Renata's eyes glowed a bright purple in excitement. Serenity's eyes remained a cool sapphire.  
  
"Well?" Renata asked in a rushed voice. "What do you intend to do with him?"  
  
Serenity's still eyes became lit with happiness. "I plan to break him."  
  
Renata blinked twice and stared at Serenity. "You want to break the heir of the Second Kingdom?"  
  
"Don't seem so astonished Rei. I don't want to, I fully intend to break him and then return him to the Bitch."  
  
"You are right that Berly will want him back. He is her only heir. But she won't accept this. She is, afterall, the queen-'  
  
"No." Serenity interrupted. "She is Queen of the Second Kingdom, nothing more. I command Light and Illusion and you War. Beryl never had and never will rule Magick. If she could have there would be no war. She would call on Dark Magick to destroy the opposing Queens."  
  
Renata tipped her head to Serenity. "Again you are correct Serena. But can you really face breaking him?"  
  
Serenity's eyes flashed in annoyance. "He is shallow and an idiot. His mind will easily shatter."  
  
Renata sighed and looked into Serenity's eyes. "Well then, I can't dissuade you so I may as well help you." She grinned. "How do you plan to break him? You don't possess the Magick to force his mind, you cannot bloody yourseld in blood lust and knowing you as I do, you will not use sex. What else is there to use?"  
  
"I am Queen of Light and Illusion." Serenity flashed a disturbing smile of her own. "I can control Light Rei. And Light can easliy be turned to Darkness."  
  
Renata frowned. "You're not the kind of person who would call Darkness to aid." Renata shook her head sadly. "I remember a time when you'd use your Illusion to play pranks. I took the Throne too soon, as did Lita. And we stillmourn the innocence you had to throw away to rule."  
  
Serenity brushed a wisp of hair from Renata's face. "Power corrupts." She forced a bright smile. "Let us go find something to eat. And your crows must be terrorizing my Palace."  
  
Serenity rose and brushed imaginary lint from her skirt. Renata stood as well and put an arm about Serenity. "You always had a Palace."  
  
Serenity frowned and turned her head to Renata. "You castle is larger than mine."  
  
"No." Renata shook her head. "I have a castle. It could never be a Palace."  
  
"Come, let us not speak so sadly. I have an allied Queen in my Kingdom and have captured the heir to the enemy Kingdom. We will feast tonight."  
  
The Princess of the Seas stood before the Queen of the Second Kingdom. "What have you seen?"  
  
Princess Mirchiru opened her aqua eyes. "He is in being kept in the Palace. The Queen of Light and Illusion plans to call Darkness to break him."  
  
"What?!" Beryl's roar echoed back to her from the corners of the Dark Stone room. "Are you sure of what you saw?"  
  
Mirchiru tipped her head to the angry Queen. "I have the gift of Depth as well as Sea. The mirror does not lie. I clearly saw Serenity sitting near the fountain speaking of using Darkness to break Endymion."  
  
"Guards!" Beryl screeched again.  
  
"Queen Beryl, if I may so interrupt. I would not be wise to attack Serentoy's castle."  
  
Beryl bore her dark gaze into the young Princess. "And why not Michiru?"  
  
To leave her title off was an insult. Eveyone knew Beryl would not command her Kingdom's power. That was why she was not referred to as the Queen of magick. Mirchiru could not blame her bitterness, her own mother did not possess the gift of the Seas, muchless Depth. But to leave even the title of Princess off when Mirchiru had adressed her as Queen was an insult!  
  
Mirchiru's eyes became a cold blue-green. "Because Beryl," by using Beryl's name Michiru established herself as equal to her. And while Michiru was only Princess, she was here as an embassador for her mother and held in the Second Kingdom the Rights of an allied Queen. "The Queen of War is also in Serenity's castle. The armies of the Fourth Kingdom are on your borders ready to attack."  
  
"So I am expected to attack borders?!" Beryl asked incredously. "They believe I will attack physically to retake Endymion?" Beryl's laughter resounded in the room. "They have undermined me and it will be a fatal mistake…"  
  
Endymion stared at the doors a long time after Serenity exited them. He was over his shock and now filled with anger. And an angry Endymion as not a good thing…Endymion reached out a mental thread of power to the Magick around the chains. They did not have Serenity's power signature, though the rest of the room reaked of it. Serenity had been wrong, the chains could easily be broken.  
  
Beryl kneeled before the alter of her temple. A read carving stood on it, its emerald eyes reflecting the godl light of the fire before it. From beneath the folds of her dresss Beryl pulled out a dagger. Its hilt was decorated with emeralds. There was a rounded metal bowl in front of the carving. In it a fire flared, providing the only source of light.  
  
Beryl gripped the dagger in her right hand. She held her left hand above the flames. In a quick motiono she ran the tip of the blade across the length of her palm. Blood trickled down into the fire until it flared up, the flames themselves licked the blood. Beryl began to chant. Nearing the end of the cantation her voice rose. The dagger with the bloodied tip was brought down with a force that left it embedded in the carving, its hilt stuck out from the carving's head.  
  
Beryl's eyes opened as she screamed the last words. "Awaken Metallia!"  
  
~~~~~End of Part Four~~~~~  
  
Author's Notes!!!!!! {plz read}  
  
1) First order of business, a big warm thank you to those who have taken the time to review or e-mail me.  
  
2) Sorry I took so long getting this part out. I just couldn't find time to write. So what did I do? I ignored my English teacher and wrote during her class. Then I ignored my Math teacher and wrote through his class (-- I don't suggest anyone do this. I only do it because the work comes easily to me so I an afford to do this(I support education!). Then I kept my sis up until midnight with the light on so I could finished this.(-- she's done this to me before)  
  
The next part should not take this long. I have about 30% of it written. I wrote during my lunch period and even before I wrote this part had the end of Part Five written.  
  
3) Pieces of part 7 are written. And I know how part 5 will go. The biggest problem now is connecting the dots. Part 6 is iffy.  
  
4) I've been busy setting up a new site, so that too has taken away from my writing time. When I'm finished with the sucker I'll post a link, why not go check it out?  
  
5) I am absolutely thrilled at this fanfic! I know where I want it to go. And I have several BIG twists in the plot.  
  
On this little note, someone suggested a Rei/Sere. Sorry. though there will be hints of it, it ain't going to head in that direction. I'ma have a little Senshi/General thing going. And a H/M. *gets evil grin on face* To see if it'll be U/M you'll have to continue reading.  
  
6) So in closing...Please Review!!! Nothing motivates like feedback. So review or e-mail me. {Knowsall5@hotmail.com}  
  
~*~Jewel~*~  
  
04/25/02 


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